Understanding the Nervous System

How Nervous System Regulation is the Game Changer You've Been Looking For

Photo by Arek Adeoye on Unsplash

Imagine you’re walking through a park on a sunny day, feeling safe and happy. As you breathe in the fresh air, your mind is relaxed. Because of this, your brain releases chemicals like dopamine (which boosts mood), oxytocin (which helps you feel connected), and growth hormones (which support cellular repair and rejuvenation). This chemical “cocktail” travels through your bloodstream, creating an environment that promotes health, healing, and vitality for your cells. When this state is experienced often, your body stays in a state that encourages growth, strong immunity, and general well-being.

Now, picture a different scenario: you’re walking through the same park, but suddenly, you hear a gunshot behind you. Panicked, your heart races, and because of this external stressor, your brain releases stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline to prepare your body for "fight or flight." These chemicals shift the environment within your body, redirecting energy away from healing and growth towards survival. Your cells enter a protective mode, reducing their focus on regeneration and immune function to prioritize immediate safety.

If this stress response only happens occasionally, your body can recover and return to a balanced state. But if you’re frequently in this stress response—whether due to fear, anxiety, or constant pressure—your cells remain in a state of protection rather than growth. Over time, this can weaken the immune system, increase inflammation, and disrupt the body’s ability to heal, leading to issues like chronic fatigue, digestive problems, high blood pressure, and even a higher risk for illnesses like heart disease or autoimmune conditions.

Unfortunately, many of us are living and working in environments that keep us in states of stress and anxiety and many of us keep ourselves in those situations simply because we think it’s normal based on the regular occurrences of daily life starting in infancy and early childhood.

“So, that sucks… is there a solution?”

Why, yes. Yes, there is, but it’s not a magic pill, and it certainly isn’t something that can happen overnight. It takes practice and daily effort.

Photo by Jared Rice on Unsplash

Nervous System Regulation

By becoming aware of how we perceive and respond to the world, we can create a more nurturing internal environment that supports long-term health and wellness.

When the nervous system experiences regular or chronic stress—such as trauma, ongoing anxiety, or repeated negative experiences—it can become accustomed to being in a heightened state of alertness known as the sympathetic state.

The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is responsible for the "fight or flight" response, which is designed to keep us safe in the face of immediate danger. However, when trauma or stress is ongoing, the SNS can remain overactive, causing this heightened state to become the baseline.

Here’s how this happens:

1. Hypervigilance Becomes the Norm: With repeated trauma or stress, the nervous system becomes hypervigilant, meaning it is always scanning for potential threats. The body stays on high alert, even when there is no immediate danger because the brain has learned that staying ready to fight or flee is a way to survive.

2. Chronic Activation of Stress Hormones: Trauma leads to continuous activation of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. Over time, the brain and body adapt to these elevated levels, making it feel “normal” to be in a state of stress. This makes it harder for the body to shift back into the parasympathetic state (rest and digest), which is responsible for calming and restoring the body.

3. Neural Pathways Adapt to Stress: The brain's neural pathways can change in response to repeated experiences. In the case of trauma, pathways that are activated by stress become stronger, creating a kind of "default mode". Think of deep grooves carved into the mind — where the sympathetic response is triggered easily, even in situations that don't require it. This is often referred to as a trauma response or sympathetic dominance.

4. Safety Signals Get Blunted: Normally, the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) helps bring the body back to a calm state. However, when the sympathetic state becomes the baseline, the PNS signals (which help the body relax) become weaker. The body struggles to recognize when it is safe to let go of tension, making it more difficult to enter a relaxed state, even during rest or sleep.